State/Territory

Region

Additional info

Inhabitants

Location map

RDR2

RDR

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A once bustling New Austin town that has been on the decline ever since they built the railroad to nearby Armadillo, Tumbleweed is dominated by the overbearing and draconian Sheriff Freeman who dispenses frontier justice very forcefully.

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—Red Dead Redemption 2 map description

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Tumbleweed? A lonely, godforsaken place. Some people say it's haunted. It was quite a town back in its day. Then they built the railroad to Armadillo and went clean past Tumbleweed. And that was that. Pretty soon, everybody had upped and left. Now it's just thieves, smugglers and bandits...

Contents

History

Red Dead Redemption 2

Between 1898 and 1907, Tumbleweed is a town on the decline. The theories for the reasons behind this include the lack of a railway in the town and harassment from a group of local bandits called the Del Lobo Gang, compounded by various epidemics afflicting the citizens of New Austin.

While entering Tumbleweed for the first time, John Marston sees a lawman entering the town with a Del Lobo. Sheriff Freeman asks what the crime is, and after hearing that the crime was robbing a stagecoach, shoots him.

As the main settlement in New Austin, Tumbleweed has a saloon, a general store, a gunsmith (which lets out a bath and a room), a butcher and a stable. Due to its desert location, daytime temperatures in Tumbleweed can reach the mid-thirties (Celsius). At night, temperatures can drop to single figures.

Red Dead Redemption

It is unknown exactly when, but Tumbleweed became a ghost town at some point between 1907 and 1911. There are many different theories about how it became abandoned, but according to Marshal Johnson, the railway serving Armadillo was not extended to Tumbleweed, bypassing the town instead. The residents moved away shortly afterward, with the lack of authority causing the town to be taken over by bandits. Tumbleweed therefore serves as a gang hideout inhabited by unaffiliated criminals.

It does not need to be saved from the undead, as it is one of the few gang hideouts which has been abandoned, most likely due to the graveyard.

Buildings

Tumbleweed has several buildings all in various states of disrepair.

Church

Located on the far-east side of the town, the small church in Tumbleweed has a white clapboard with a small steeple. It consists of a single room with eight pews and a pulpit at the front. Despite a few holes around the building, it may be the most well-preserved structure in Tumbleweed. Also, inside there are words written on the pulpit that read, "The devil has got into that beast." If the player stands facing the pulpit at night and turns the camera around to the left behind the pulpit, there will be a blurry vision of a demonic face near the bottom of the glass.

Outside, there is a small shed and a small cemetery. The headstones are all of varying ages, with some placed as recently as 1907 while others have long since weathered beyond the point of legibility. The entire property is enclosed by a stone wall and wrought iron fence. In the northwest corner of the graveyard is a slightly crumbled grave marker of a lady named "Elenora Riddick", if a fire bottle is thrown at this grave it opens, revealing what appears to be an empty coffin. This is the grave that Seth was searching on his last mission.

General Store & Assay Office

The General Store is located on the east side of Tumbleweed and is made of wood reinforced stucco. Inside are three barrels, a counter, a small shelf, and a cash register. Remnants of curtains flap in the wind. On the other side of the nearby path, there is a small wooden hut that contains a chest containing money.

An assay office is an institution set up to assess the purity of minerals. This suggests Tumbleweed was a mining town, possibly servicing Gaptooth Breach before it went bust. A further hint that Tumbleweed was a mining town is mentioned by Marshal Johnson in the mission "Hanging Bonnie MacFarlane". The assay office in Tumbleweed was owned by the Spickin Mining Company. Inside the office are a desk, shelf, counter, cash register, and brick kiln. The office is located directly north of the General Store.

Saloon

The Tumbleweed Saloon is the northernmost structure in Tumbleweed. It contains an old bar littered with empty and broken bottles, a piano; the remnants of various mounted animals, a wagon wheel chandelier, and an office upstairs. Curiously, the saloon clock still works despite the abandonment of the town. In single-player mode, there is a chest containing money located behind the bar, and in Free Roam, there is a Bolt Action Rifle located in the office.

Sheriff's Office & Jail

All that remains is one desk and three chairs. It is on the west side of town. Next to it is a derelict brick jail divided into three rooms, with the rusted remains of one jail cell. It can be found at the northwest side of town, to the west of the saloon. Behind the jail is a small wooden shack that contains a money chest.

Gunsmith & Residences

On the south side of the town, there are three unmarked buildings in a row. Two of them were probably apartments and/or houses, while the one in the middle was the Gunsmith shop. They all contain at least a bed and several moonshine bottles.

There is another residence building situated in the north of the town, which is almost completely in ruins; a money chest is located inside.

Barn

The southernmost structure in Tumbleweed, this barn was meant for keeping horses. The area is littered with junk like anvils, spittoons, and wagon wheels. Sometimes, tamed nags (old horses) will spawn in the corral. There are three chests located here; two inside and one against the outside wall.

Mansion

The mansion is by far the largest structure in Tumbleweed. It is situated on a ridge at the westernmost part of Tumbleweed. The grounds around the mansion host a small stable, a gazebo (in which a money chest can be found), abandoned wagons, and various garbage. The wooden mansion was built on a brick foundation with a cellar. It is one of a few buildings in the game that has a cellar. Some players claimed that there's something in the middle window of the mansion after reading the in-game newspapers.

Cellar

The cellar is built on walled-in bricks with three unevenly sized brick support posts, and a wood wall, creating a horseshoe configuration. The floor is dirty and littered with garbage. There are various containers, boxes and chairs, as well as a casket, and a mattress inside the cellar. A bull's skull marks the location of Calhoun's Gold.

First floor

The first floor contains the front room, storeroom, and kitchen. In the front room, there is a piano, two overturned sofas, a wooden crate, a large fireplace, and a fully functional grandfather clock. The floor is littered with garbage and fallen ceiling panels. The kitchen contains a stove, long table, and several broken chairs. The storeroom has a desk with some pots on it, some barrels, and a broken shelf. There is a money chest located at the end of the hallway on the left-hand side as the player enters from the main doors.

Second floor

There are two bedrooms. Each has their own bedroom space as well as an adjoining sitting room. These rooms are populated with various furniture such as beds, chairs, desks, armoires, nightstands, etc. While each room is both in disrepair, one has a surprisingly intact chair.

Notes

On a table on the front porch of the house in the west, the Cigarette Card for the Desert Fern Palm can be found.

The Cigarette Card for Caroline Lupine can be found on the roof of the sheriff's office, behind the sign.

On the mantle inside the burned-out house to the north is the Cigarette Card for Jesse Raymond.

On the platform of the windmill to the east is the Cigarette Card for Billy Midnight.

Southeast of the windmill on the edge of the plateau overlooking Tumbleweed is the Gaptooth Ridge Tumbleweed Bone.

North of Tumbleweed is an abandoned mission. Inside is a lockbox containing express pistol cartridges and high-velocity repeater cartridges.

Further north from the mission and to the border is the Silent Stead shack. Under the bed inside is a lockbox containing Potent Miracle Tonic and high-velocity rifle cartridges.

To the northeast of Tumbleweed, atop the cliff overlooking the canyon, is the Gaptooth Ridge North Tumbleweed Bone. This can be pinpointed by heading due west from Ridgewood Farm in Cholla Springs and crossing the border into Gaptooth Ridge.

Gang Hideout

Tumbleweed has a history of being used as a gang hideout by Unaffiliated criminals. In single-player, the protagonist can help a sheriff named Claude Banfield, to clear the town of criminals.

Headlines

This text appears in one of the newspapers about Tumbleweed, revealing what the citizens think about the ghost town:

TUMBLEWEED HAUNTED?Following recent reports of ghost sightings in the abandoned town of Tumbleweed, visitors are continuing to tell of unnatural happenings and strange feelings. Some visitors claim to have seen spirits of the dead. Others ghosts, still others, ghouls and fairies. Our reporter on the scene found no evidence but we urge readers to send us reports of any unnatural happenings in the area.

MORE GHOSTS TAKE UP RESIDENCE AT TUMBLEWEEDThe town of Tumbleweed, long believed by local residents to be possessed by evil spirits has claimed the lives of dozens more men. The area was found strewn with dead bodies and weapons leading the more educated and rationally minded amongst us to conclude that this is the work of mortal rather than unearthly beings. Rumors of riches hidden in Tumbleweeds abandoned mansion may have been the catalyst for the altercation, but for the moment it remains a mystery.

Glitches/Bugs

Occasionally, enemies in multiplayer will be stuck inside the large rock near the church, resulting in seeing only their arms and the barrel of their gun. You will be unable to shoot them if this happens, though on rare occasions a close-up shotgun blast will do the trick. Dynamite works for this problem; throwing it in the direct vicinity of the trapped enemy will often work. Leaving the area and returning is the only way to correct this issue if unable to kill the entrapped enemy.

If the player shoots the hung victim's noose rope, it will extend to the ground and the victim will still be attached to the rope. This is only confirmed with the Evans Repeater.

Shooting the rope suspending the chandelier in the saloon results in it slowly disappearing, but the chandelier will remain suspended as if the rope was still there. If the player continues to shoot the rope, the rope will extend toward the moose antlers and the chandelier will stay in the same position.

Sometimes, when the player calls for their horse, it will get stuck in the wall facing the front of the mansion in the cellar. However, the horse can be observed to be running, and only its tail and hind legs stick through the brick walls.

Trivia

General

Tumbleweed is based on Tombstone, Arizona. Like Tumbleweed, Tombstone was once a prosperous town proliferated by the mining industry. By the turn of the century, however, a fire destroyed its pumping plant, and the town lost its main source of income, and by the early 20th century the town was semi-abandoned and notorious for its delinquency.

Another source of inspiration for Tumbleweed may be the town of Bisbee, Arizona; by the turn of the century, Bisbee was a prosperous mining town with roughly the same population as Phoenix. Bisbee was the site of infamous deportations of striking miners to New Mexico in 1917, orders which were taken in order to prevent unionization. Bisbee declined after 1920, becoming semi-abandoned before the town was revived in the latter half of the 20th century.

The name of the town might be a reference to the 1968 Clint Eastwood western film Hang 'Em High. This is possible because, in the film, a wagon full of criminals is called the "Tumbleweed Wagon" and the town of Tumbleweed is full of criminals

Several characters and events throughout the game vaguely hint to Tumbleweed being haunted by ghosts.

Red Dead Redemption

In the church, the words; "The devil has got into that beast," are scrawled on the top of the pulpit. This is possibly referring to the Dark Horse, or the extremely eerie dog barking. There is also a strange design in the back of the bottom shelf of the pulpit.

The reports of strange noises being heard in Tumbleweed by players as well as the reception the claim has received is reminiscent to the Sprunk Factory in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV as well as the many urban legends surrounding the countryside in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

A glitch can occur when attempting to complete the Tumbleweed gang hideout during Multiplayer. When killing the outlaws near the church, a criminal can spawn inside of a large rock. He retains the ability to shoot out of the rock, but the player cannot kill him with guns but throwing dynamite at the rock will kill him.

Many NPCs travel the road passing the mansion but are not attacked by any gang members. If the player travels this road, they will not attack as long as one doesn't attack them. However, in Multiplayer, the gang members will attack the player if they go through Tumbleweed.

It is possible to get the Winchester Repeater immediately after the second mission; just fast travel to Tumbleweed and clear it to receive a Winchester Repeater (the lawman must be kept alive in order to receive the weapon).

Moses Forth's father is buried in the graveyard. The inscription ironically reads, "This is one grave he cannot rob."

In the mansion, the player may sometimes hear a chicken clucking even though there is no livestock in the town.

According to a campfire tale, Walton Lowe can be seen sleeping in the Tumbleweed jail at midnight.

Red Dead Redemption 2

The single power line in the town is connected directly to the Lanik Electric Company, three states over in Saint Denis. This means that it is possible to follow the power line the entire route, unbroken, between Tumbleweed and Saint Denis. Every other major settlement in the game (with the notable exception of Strawberry) is also connected via these power lines.

If the player enters the town as Arthur, law enforcement will immediately recognize him as a suspect in the Blackwater Massacre and attack him.

Undead Nightmare

The undead has a large presence in Tumbleweed, even after the graveyard is cleared. Usually, one or two can be found in each residence, and more shambling around the town. They also spawn in hordes outside of the mansion. Inside the mansion, there is a few undead that will wander out of the rooms and attack Marston. But if entered as undead Marston, they will stand motionless until provoked.